Pushing the envelope of biodegradable polymers
Polymers in liquid formulations are a particularly challenging class of ingredients when it comes to enabling their biodegradability. As they are large macromolecules, their ultimate biodegradability can be very slow and many products based on acrylate chemistry today do not meet challenging biodegradability specifications.
The biodegradables-by-design program is a worldwide project involving chemists, microbiologists, physical chemists, application testing, data sciences, and many more, with 2 main focus areas: developing new polymer chemistries and developing leading capabilities to assess the biodegradability of our products. Through a deep understanding of the biodegradation mechanisms of polymers, we aim to develop the next generation of readily and ultimately biodegradable products that leave no trace in the environment.
Biodegradable Agrochemical formulation ingredients
We are developing next-generation biodegradable dispersants for liquid and solid crop protection formulations. Suspension concentrates are homogeneous and stable dispersions of solid pesticides used by farmers to spray onto crops to deliver phytosanitary benefits. Today, common dispersants that are used are based on non-biodegradable polymers. Our aim is to keep the same performance benefits of these adjuvants but develop biodegradable solutions. We are also addressing the seed coatings market's need to develop microplastic-free solutions by delivering biodegradable solutions.
High-performance Beauty Care
Today, high-conditioning polymers in hair care applications are not biodegradable. We are focusing our expertise and resources on addressing this issue. The goal of the project is to develop biodegradable conditioning polymers which can deliver high conditioning benefits for damaged to highly damaged hair.
Biodegradable Home Care performance polymers
Many of the performance polymers used in home care applications such as cleaners and detergents are not readily biodegradable. We aim to address this issue by developing a new range of biodegradable polymers that bring surface modification properties, detergency, and much more.
